Quick links:
- Join the Mask-making brigade for VC health care workers (now at 4871!): here
- Volunteer opportunities, including those for healthcare workers, in Ventura County: here.
- Want to be part of the new Gown Brigade? Send your name, address, email and cell phone number to hcfvc@ventura.org
(Information below from Amy Towner, CEO – Health Care Foundation for Ventura County.)
Mask Brigade update.
We had 255 masks donated on Tuesday. Pictured here are some cute ones from Ventura County Probation Department’s Pamela Henderson. She said this was so much fun! Gina and I have done mass passing out of masks to essential workers throughout the county and it’s been fun to see some masks that you have made being sported all around the county. I am asking employees to thank you so I can post on social media, We can not let our guard down and we still need more masks so thank you for continuing to sew especially since we had 33 new cases as of tonight.
Gown Brigade update.
For those new to the Gown Brigade – Welcome! Today, we had our first drop off shipment at Gina’s. With 12,000 trash bags, that’s a lot of ironing. So glad we have an army of community sewing and ironing for our community safety. The message is clear, in Ventura County, we are not ok with sitting around not having basic PPE for healthcare or people. Our community has been extremely resourceful and not waiting around for others to fix the problem.
Attached are the instructions for making the hospital gown from plastic bags.
Pattern revisions:
- For those who’ve made these before, there are changes on the cut for the neck area, a new step for the back side of the gown and tie placement.
- For those that have already cut and assembled gowns, there is a link to a video showing the changes and adapting instructions for the neckline.
Purchase/donate bags?: The gowns require 55 gallon trash bags that are 1.3 – 1.7 ml thickness and 48-50 inches long. (5) are necessary to follow the instructions below to make (4) gowns. Please ask in your social circles for donations!
Need bags?: For those needing bags, you can pick them up curbside at AFMC Academic Family Medical Center, 300 Hillmont Ave, Ventura. Follow the signs for the curbside COVID testing and let them know you are there to pick up plastic bags to make PPE gowns. Someone will bring them to you. Make sure you give your name. Please note: some of the bags are black.
VIDEOS
Sheila Raives has done a fabulous job providing the videos below with some great suggestions. A special thank you to her and her husband for a job well done! Thank you to Tim Weisberg for your help with the videos!
- Gown Supplies Needed: Video here.
- Changes with instructions to adapt: Video here.
- Cutting Sleeves: Video here.
- Joining the sleeve with iron or heat lamp: Video here.
- Fusing sleeves to gown body: Video here.
- Cutting the Back of the Gown: Video here.
- Attaching the ties and cutting the thumb hole on sleeves: Video here.
- Gown Final Steps: Video here.
PATTERN/INSTRUCTIONS – Downloadable/printable instructions here. Drop-off information for finished gowns at the bottom.
DROP-OFF LOCATIONS – We now have two locations for finished products!
- West County (leave on the front porch)765 Saratoga Avenue
Ventura, CA 93003 - East County (leave on the front patio – reach over gate to open)891 Rowland Ave
Camarillo CA 93010
Thank you for all that you are doing in making a difference for our Health Care Heroes and for continuing to help us protect one another, especially since we have a shelter safe at home order until May 15th. We need to continue to have healthy outlets where we can stay connected to one another.
Gown Brigade Team
Amy Towner Lizeth Barretto
Nancy Lee Phillips
| Cumulative Donations as of 4/14/20 9:23 pm | |
| N95 | 8083 |
| Gloves | 3393 |
| Surgical Masks | 5,773 |
| ISO Gowns | 1739 |
| Goggles | 764 |
| Shields | 1328 |
| Sewn Masks | 5839 |
| Swabs | 38 |
| Baby Monitors | 88 |
| Trash Bags | 11,695 |
| Sanitizer | 13 |
| KN95 | 1000 |
| Alternative PPE Gowns | 12 |